


Family

by decinis



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Firebird, Fluff, HellWitch, Underwitch, Wicked Hell, Zelena Mills - Freeform, hades x zelena, zades
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 18:11:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6715795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/decinis/pseuds/decinis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Canon compliant up to 5x20 "Firebird." Takes place during the events of 5x20 "Firebird" and expands upon a scene previewed in the promo images for the episode featuring Hades, Zelena, and Baby Hood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

Hades stood and watched as Regina passed the baby to her sister.

 

He’d intentionally positioned himself behind the action, feeling somewhat out of place in the room even as he shared it with Zelena. Did he belong there, he wondered? Would he ever truly belong with them at all? 

 

Hades wouldn’t delude himself - he knew he wasn’t well liked by the Charmings, even less so by the others that’d filled the room. He supposed at least part of the blame belonged to him given the past they’d shared, but that’d been before Regina had experienced a change of heart. It’d been before the sisters had been reunited, and the hatchet had been tentatively buried between them. What they looked at moving forward was a new playing field entirely - one that no one standing in that room understood, or fully knew how to handle.

 

In Hades’ mind, he’d only been protecting himself… protecting  _ Zelena _ . He would’ve given anything to ensure her safety - that much had been written in stone long ago. In that moment, as he stood there watching her hold her child, he couldn’t help but wonder if his presence was intrusive to them. Hades may not have understood much about families, but he did understand it wasn’t his place to interfere. He couldn’t bear the thought of ruining that moment for her, knowing full well how little time she’d had with her daughter since her birth. 

 

Hades’ heart ached for her as he watched her plant soft kisses on the baby’s cheek. Soon Robin would demand their daughter back, and Zelena would be devastated. He saw the impatience and distrust all too present in the man’s demeanor, and he found himself wishing he could stop time to put an end to Robin’s meddling once and for all. It wasn’t fair to her, the way he monopolized his time with their child.

 

Hades’ jaw clenched involuntarily at the thought.

 

All of the anger and resentment that’d been bubbling up in his heart was halted the moment Zelena turned to him, a genuine smile on her face as she met his gaze. She was born to be a mother, he realized, a half-smile forming as she spoke softly to the infant in her arms. He found himself wondering if they’d ever have children of their own someday, but immediately dismissed the thought. He couldn’t afford to entertain such things when so much was still uncertain. 

 

The Underworld was no place to raise a child. First, they needed to make it out alive.

 

“Would you like to hold her?” Zelena asked, breaking the silence that’d fallen over the room. 

 

There was no mistaking who she’d been talking to. Robin immediately made an effort to stop her, but his progress was halted by Regina’s interference. 

 

He swallowed dryly, his eyes widening as she approached him. 

 

“Do you really think that’s a good idea, Zelena?” he asked, his voice unsteady. “I mean, I don’t know the first thing about babies, and…”

 

“Hades,” she said softly, interrupting his half-hearted protest. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t absolutely sure.” 

 

He said nothing. His eyes fell to the little pink bundle of joy his love held in her hands, and his expression immediately softened. She had her mother’s eyes, he noticed. And her little nose. Hades reached out to her and brushed her cheek with the side of his index finger, causing a smile to appear on both of their faces. The baby giggled. He was smitten. 

 

“See? She likes you,” Zelena said softly, meeting his eyes once more.

 

“You really think so?” he asked.

 

She nodded.

 

“I know so.”

 

Hades swallowed again, his nerves beginning to get the better of him. What if he held her and she started crying? He didn’t know how to handle crying babies… he didn’t know how to handle babies at  _ all _ . What if he accidentally dropped her? Or his magic misfired for some reason and he unintentionally wound up hurting her?

 

Sensing his worry, Zelena leaned forward - careful not to disturb her daughter - and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. His skin felt abnormally warm beneath her lips, and when she pulled away she could have sworn he’d been blushing.

 

“It really would mean a lot to me if you got to hold her,” she said. 

 

It was all the encouragement he’d needed.

 

Hades reached out to her, and Zelena gently placed the baby in his arms. She was light, he realized… so tiny, and fragile, and  _ new. _ She smiled at him as he watched her, her arms raising up shortly after, and Hades instinctively lifted her to his shoulder, cradling her head with the palm of his hand. He’d never entertained the thought of becoming a father before he’d met Zelena, but something about holding her daughter in his arms felt  _ right _ ... it felt like what he’d been destined for all along _. _ Her tiny fingers grasped at the fabric of his jacket, and she laid her head against his shoulder. She was asleep in no time at all. 

 

Hades closed his eyes, allowing himself to forget about the Charmings and their so-called friends as he tried to commit the moment to memory. He imagined a life where he and Zelena had children of their own… a life where they wouldn’t be forced to give that little girl away after such a short visitation… a life where they might be a  _ family. _

 

When he handed her back, Hades fought back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. He was sure his lip was quivering slightly despite his efforts, but he supposed no one could fault him for that. Letting that child go was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do in his life.

 

His eyes met Zelena’s again, and he knew in an instant - they would fight for that future, side by side, come hell or high water. 

 

They just had to make it out alive first.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as always to 'shakenspeares' who gave this fic a once-over before it bravely ventured out into the world! I figured we all could use a little bit of family fluff before the episode tonight... if you need me I'll just be over here forming a prayer circle for Hades. I've never been so scared for a fictional character in my entire life.
> 
> Promo photo in question can be found here ([x](http://41.media.tumblr.com/ae7c5459af42de4d46cc180a1fe170e1/tumblr_o6g2gy1UnM1vol4p8o1_1280.jpg))
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
